An in-depth look at one album. Part of the Spotlight series run by Group Therapy.
Britney Spears 5th Album is classic pop. It’s as far from an auteur piece as possible, it had so many producers that it’s credit list would be the same length as a Hollywood blockbuster. It was the music industry at … Continue reading Album Spotlight – Britney Spears : Blackout
With their third album, A Hard Day’s Night, the Beatles met the challenge of providing a film soundtrack for the first time, and despite the time they were putting in making the movie, the result is one of their finest. … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—A Hard Day’s Night
One could be forgiven for expecting that the Beatles’ second record wouldn’t be as groundbreaking as their first. But the group avoided the dreaded sophomore slump with their album With the Beatles, released November 23, 1963. Coming off of two more … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—With The Beatles
It was fifty-five years prior to this date of publication that the main recording session for the Beatles’ first album, Please Please Me, took place. As Mark Lewisohn, the Beatles’ foremost biographer, later wrote, there have scarcely been 585 more … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Please Please Me
Nothing from Donuts will ever be performed at a concert. Time is the donut of the heart. The track “Lightworks” samples electronic pioneer Raymond Scott, who composed music for Looney Tunes and built some of the earliest synthesizers. His most … Continue reading Album Spotlight: J Dilla – Donuts
Christmastime is here again/Ain’t been round since you know when… —The Beatles Did you know that the Beatles recorded a Christmas album? They did. Unfortunately, it wasn’t filled with their covers of songs like Good King Wenceslas and Rudolph The … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles Christmas Album
The Beastie Boys’ landmark sophomore album Paul’s Boutique is a bit hard for me to write about. It is a dizzying album that I’ve lived with for so long, yet I still feel like I have yet to unlock all … Continue reading Album Spotlight: Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique
I like noise. I like big-ass vicious noise that makes my head spin. I wanna feel it whipping through me like a f*cking jolt. We’re so dilapidated and crushed by our pathetic existence we need it like a fix. – … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Jesus and Mary Chain – Psychocandy (1985)
The debut album by one-half of the Spacemen 3 songwriters (Jason Pierce, AKA J Spaceman), Lazer Guided Melodies continues and deepens his old band’s investigations into contemplative, despairing, or ecstatic states. As with their forbears in the Velvet Underground, those … Continue reading Album Spotlight: Spiritualized – Lazer Guided Melodies (1992 – 61 min.)
The Cure – Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me The seventh studio LP by English rock band The Cure, and the one that broke them in the U.S. (reaching the Billboard top 40), 1987’s Kiss Me (x3) is a sprawling … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Cure – Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987)
Summer, 1979. Paul McCartney is in his home studio in Scotland, perhaps depressed, admittedly discouraged. His musical group isn’t working out the way he’d like. Their last album hasn’t been well received by the critics. Perhaps it’s time to move … Continue reading Album Spotlight: Paul McCartney – McCartney II
The Stone Roses (1989) were and are Ian Brown – lead vocals, percussion, bongos; John Squire – guitar, backing vocals; Reni (Alan Wren) – drums, percussion, backing vocals; Mani (Gary Mounfield) – bass guitar. Album produced by John Leckie. This … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
